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ALBANY, N. Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers could soon replace the lawsuit that overturned Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction with a push for a bill to strengthen sexual assault prosecutions after that the disgraced movie mogul’s case was dismissed.
Last month, the state’s highest court overturned Weinstein’s conviction in a ruling that a trial ruled that the women improperly allowed to testify about allegations that were not part of the criminal charges.
Two weeks later, lawmakers introduced a bill that would allow courts to admit evidence that a defendant in a sex crimes case had committed other sex crimes, while also granting sentencing power to bar such testimony if it risked creating “undue hardship” for a defendant.
“In cases of sexual assault, which usually depend on the testimony of the survivor, this is essential and fundamental. It allows the conduct of the guilty party to be brought to court,” said Assemblymember and Democrat Amy Paulin. The bill’s sponsor said at a rally in favor of the bill in New York City on Thursday.
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New York allows such evidence to be used in certain cases, such as to reveal a common reason or agenda, though supporters of the bill, adding the deputy leader of the state Senate, have said the existing rule requires an explanation after the bill. Weinstein’s decision is approved.
Paulin said 16 other states have laws, as does the federal government.
Weinstein, 72, has denied the allegations made in New York. He is accused of raping an aspiring actor in 2013 and sexually assaulting a production assistant in 2006. His conviction in 2020 marked a key moment in the #MeToo movement, raising awareness about sexual misconduct. in American society.
New York prosecutors are seeking a new trial for Weinstein in September. The former film director was also convicted of rape in California and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Lately he has been imprisoned in New York.
The bill drew early complaints from the Legal Aid Society. Amanda Jack, the group’s policy director, said the proposal is too broad and “will take us so far away from any sense of fairness and due process that we will have to dismiss it as a damaging defeat in our criminal trial system. “
Heather Ellis Cucolo, a professor at New York Law School, said admitting such evidence requires sensitive scrutiny by the court, but that it may only be for juries in sexual assault cases where two other people give conflicting accounts of an incident.
“It’s incredibly complicated to assess the evidence as it relates to what he said, so the point of previous bad acts is to hope to show that this is a trend. This is anything this user has done with other victims,” he said. .
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